After an emotional win against California in overtime, the Beavers turn their attention to another Pac-12 foe in the Utah Utes. OSU head coach Gary Andersen talked about the challenges that Utah presents in his weekly press conference.
"They're obviously a good team and have been for a long time," Andersen said. "They do what they do - especially on the defense side of the ball. They have very talented players and are a tremendous challenge. They'll get up in your face and get after you.
"They've proven that they've recruited at a high level and put themselves in a position in the Pac-12 to compete and play with anybody and beat anybody - much respect for them."
The win over Cal last weekend was a big moment for the Beavers since winning a Pac-12 game is something they hadn't done in nearly two years.
"I think they should feel good about getting the victory. It was a tremendous celebration for everybody," Andersen explained. "Like I said after the game, it was a tremendous moment. That stadium was so impressive when you get in those situations. The fans were awesome; the students were awesome. To get it done in that fashion - we would've like to get it done a little easier. I probably aged three years there in the fourth quarter and in overtime, but the kids found a way to get it done, which was big for us building forward. There was a lot of great things that came that night.
"When it's good or bad, never forget it, but you have to put it in the back of your mind and you have to move on. I think the kids did a good job with that today. Those memories will stay with them for a long time."
After getting absolutely thrashed by Colorado, the Beavers defense had a complete 180 from that game to the Cal game. Sure, the Beavers allowed 44 points, but the box score doesn't tell the whole story.
"There was an unbelievable chess match that went on during that game," Andersen said. "Cal has certain things that they want to do. Obviously, it's a very potent passing attack, and we were underplaying the box would be an understatement when I say that as far as the run game goes. We had a lot of people bailing out getting out in coverage to take away their favorite routes. We made plays on the ball down the field, which those are going to be 50-50 balls. We were not good in those - we were great. We basically made every play on the contested ball that was deep.
"I thought our kids reacted to the pace that they were playing with very well. We just made some plays. I'd also tag on top of that, we were able to get some pressure on the quarterback. He didn't feel at home like he has in the past. Joah [Robinett] came in and started - never played in a Pac-12 game before, never played in a college game before. There he is running around chasing one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He played very well and another true freshman steps up."
- Kyle Whittingham and coach Andersen are very good friends. GA talked about how close their families are. GA said that he'll probably text Kyle during the week, and he doesn't expect a response.
- Andersen is not worried about his team getting complacent with having a Pac-12 win.
- Andersen thought the pass rush was much improved. He said that Bright, Joah, Paisa, Baker, and Elu did a nice job. He was especially impressed with the way Baker and Elu pushed the middle of the pocket back. Andersen loves the athleticism of Bright and the length of Joah. Andersen noted that Sumner had the most reps of all the DL.
- Andersen raved about true freshman Joah Robinett, saying that they "recruited a quality young man and a good football player. Mentally tough enough to play as a freshman." Andersen teased the media by saying there's another true frosh or two that might get in that we haven't seen yet.
- Andersen said that on some plays, Paul Lucas is the team's best option at running back.
- On the passing game..
"The throw game has to improve. You've got to be able to get some balls down the field in those situations. We didn't try [throwing the ball down the field] a lot, because we didn't have to."
The Beavs won't have as much success running between the tackles like they did against Cal. Andersen really wants the passing game to improve.
- Andersen said that the OL improvement has a lot to do with Sean Harlow coming back. Andersen also noted that Gus Lavaka played really well and that Fred Lauina should be nervous. GA loves having a "settled in" center in Gavin Andrews.
- Andersen doesn't necessarily want to be a slow the game down offense nor a fast pace offense. He wants to be a spread offense that has an attack that makes the other team nervous. They'll do what they need to do pace-wise based on their opponent.
- Andersen thinks that Garretson running the ball is very important to win games. He added that DG will be doing it for years to come. GA added that DG is a "professional student athlete" that handles adversity very well.
- Andersen didn't give an injury update on Nall, but the way he talked about him implied that he'd be ready to go against Utah.
- Andersen was very, very pleased with the wide receiver blocking. He noted how Villamin took the CB out of the play on DG's game winning TD run. He said that WR's were very unselfish.
"They're obviously a good team and have been for a long time," Andersen said. "They do what they do - especially on the defense side of the ball. They have very talented players and are a tremendous challenge. They'll get up in your face and get after you.
"They've proven that they've recruited at a high level and put themselves in a position in the Pac-12 to compete and play with anybody and beat anybody - much respect for them."
The win over Cal last weekend was a big moment for the Beavers since winning a Pac-12 game is something they hadn't done in nearly two years.
"I think they should feel good about getting the victory. It was a tremendous celebration for everybody," Andersen explained. "Like I said after the game, it was a tremendous moment. That stadium was so impressive when you get in those situations. The fans were awesome; the students were awesome. To get it done in that fashion - we would've like to get it done a little easier. I probably aged three years there in the fourth quarter and in overtime, but the kids found a way to get it done, which was big for us building forward. There was a lot of great things that came that night.
"When it's good or bad, never forget it, but you have to put it in the back of your mind and you have to move on. I think the kids did a good job with that today. Those memories will stay with them for a long time."
After getting absolutely thrashed by Colorado, the Beavers defense had a complete 180 from that game to the Cal game. Sure, the Beavers allowed 44 points, but the box score doesn't tell the whole story.
"There was an unbelievable chess match that went on during that game," Andersen said. "Cal has certain things that they want to do. Obviously, it's a very potent passing attack, and we were underplaying the box would be an understatement when I say that as far as the run game goes. We had a lot of people bailing out getting out in coverage to take away their favorite routes. We made plays on the ball down the field, which those are going to be 50-50 balls. We were not good in those - we were great. We basically made every play on the contested ball that was deep.
"I thought our kids reacted to the pace that they were playing with very well. We just made some plays. I'd also tag on top of that, we were able to get some pressure on the quarterback. He didn't feel at home like he has in the past. Joah [Robinett] came in and started - never played in a Pac-12 game before, never played in a college game before. There he is running around chasing one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He played very well and another true freshman steps up."
Notables
- Andersen said after the game that the win over Cal wasn't a program defining win, and he explained his thoughts more on Monday. He said that program defining wins start to happen when you reach milestones like 6/7 wins, 8/9 wins, etc. Not a sole win in the conference will define OSU.
- Kyle Whittingham and coach Andersen are very good friends. GA talked about how close their families are. GA said that he'll probably text Kyle during the week, and he doesn't expect a response.
- Andersen is not worried about his team getting complacent with having a Pac-12 win.
- Andersen thought the pass rush was much improved. He said that Bright, Joah, Paisa, Baker, and Elu did a nice job. He was especially impressed with the way Baker and Elu pushed the middle of the pocket back. Andersen loves the athleticism of Bright and the length of Joah. Andersen noted that Sumner had the most reps of all the DL.
- Andersen raved about true freshman Joah Robinett, saying that they "recruited a quality young man and a good football player. Mentally tough enough to play as a freshman." Andersen teased the media by saying there's another true frosh or two that might get in that we haven't seen yet.
- Andersen said that on some plays, Paul Lucas is the team's best option at running back.
- On the passing game..
"The throw game has to improve. You've got to be able to get some balls down the field in those situations. We didn't try [throwing the ball down the field] a lot, because we didn't have to."
The Beavs won't have as much success running between the tackles like they did against Cal. Andersen really wants the passing game to improve.
- Andersen said that the OL improvement has a lot to do with Sean Harlow coming back. Andersen also noted that Gus Lavaka played really well and that Fred Lauina should be nervous. GA loves having a "settled in" center in Gavin Andrews.
- Andersen doesn't necessarily want to be a slow the game down offense nor a fast pace offense. He wants to be a spread offense that has an attack that makes the other team nervous. They'll do what they need to do pace-wise based on their opponent.
- Andersen thinks that Garretson running the ball is very important to win games. He added that DG will be doing it for years to come. GA added that DG is a "professional student athlete" that handles adversity very well.
- Andersen didn't give an injury update on Nall, but the way he talked about him implied that he'd be ready to go against Utah.
- Andersen was very, very pleased with the wide receiver blocking. He noted how Villamin took the CB out of the play on DG's game winning TD run. He said that WR's were very unselfish.
